We all tell little white lies at the beginning of a relationship. “Oh, I love hiking!” or “Yes, I’ve definitely seen that classic, important film.” But there’s a difference between a small fib and creating an entire alternate career path. One woman on Reddit just discovered her boyfriend has been living a full-on lie for eight months, and he thinks it’s hilarious.
Our narrator, a 27-year-old woman, has been dating “Ryan” for a year and a half. From day one, he told her he worked in pharmaceutical sales. It sounded legit. He made good money, traveled for “conferences,” and had a solid story. She had absolutely no reason to question it.
Then came the meet-the-parents dinner. The couple went to Austin to see her folks, and her 61-year-old dad, a retired pharmacist, was excited to finally talk shop with Ryan. You can already see where this is going, can’t you?
The dad, just trying to make friendly conversation, started asking normal industry questions. “Which pharma company do you work for?” “What drugs do you specialize in?” “What’s your territory?” And Ryan, the “pharma sales rep,” suddenly became the vaguest man on earth.
He dodged and weaved like a pro. His territory? “Oh you know, central region mostly.” When her dad pressed, “So Oklahoma, Kansas?” Ryan literally replied, “yeah and other places, it’s pretty fluid.” The final nail in the coffin was when her dad mentioned a brand new medication that just got approved. Ryan had no idea what he was talking about. He was completely blank.
The girlfriend just thought the whole thing was awkward. She had no idea her dad was, in fact, conducting an unintentional, low-key interrogation. The real bomb dropped in the car on the way home. She mentioned he seemed uncomfortable, and Ryan laughed. He laughed and said, “yeah your dad almost caught me.”
Excuse me? Caught you? She was confused, and then he just dropped it. “I don’t actually work in pharma sales babe. I’m a grocery store manager. I manage the Whole Foods on Lamar.” He confessed this like he was admitting to eating the last cookie.
This man has been lying to her for eight months. He told her pharma sales “sounded better” when they first met, and then he just… never stopped. He was so deep in the lie he couldn’t find his way out. Those “conferences” he traveled for? Training sessions for new hires at other Whole Foods. The “late nights” at the office? Just him closing the store.
And here is the part that sends me into orbit. He genuinely thought this was a cute confession. He was smiling. He was treating it like a funny little “oopsie” that they would laugh about. He actually said, “come on it’s not that big a deal, I still make good money.”
My dude. This is not a “small lie.” This is a massive, systematic, eight-month-long deception about your entire identity. And the worst part? He’s now mad at her for being upset, texting her that she’s “overreacting.” This isn’t just a lie; it’s a full-on gaslight.
Let’s be very clear, as the girlfriend herself points out, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a store manager at Whole Foods. It’s a great, respectable job. The problem isn’t the job; it’s the fact that he’s a pathological liar who felt the need to invent a different life.
Her best friend is right. This is a red flag so big it could be seen from space. If he can lie about his entire career for eight months, with a straight face, what else is he lying about? This isn’t “everyone lies a little.” This is a fundamental breach of trust. She is not overreacting. She just found out she’s been dating a character, not a person.
Dump his low paying , lying ass